New Mexico meat plant owner defends horse slaughter plan

ROSWELL, N.M. — The owner of a slaughterhouse is defending his plan to become the first plant in the nation since 2007 to handle horses after an outcry from politicians and animal activists.

Valley Meat Co. owner Rick De Los Santos said he's trying to revive his failing business and that what he's proposing is legal. The horses he plans to process are being slaughtered anyway in Mexico and his operation would be overseen by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and meet higher standards, he said.

The company's application for federal inspections at the plant just outside Roswell triggered an outcry when it became public Friday.

Gov. Susana Martinez called on the USDA to deny his application.

If his application to the USDA is approved, De Los Santos said horse meat will be exported to Mexico and be for Mexican consumption.

He said the exportation of horse carcasses might be a better option than exporting live horses to Mexico, which involves holding the horses at the border. De Los Santos also said horse slaughter methods in Mexico may be less humane than in the U.S.

Horse slaughter has effectively been blocked since Congress withheld funds for USDA inspections of horse meat plants in 2006. But a recently passed agriculture bill provides the money.

De Los Santos said the official number of live American horses exported to other countries for slaughter is 100,000, but the figure may be closer to 130,000.

“All I'm saying is we can take some of those and slaughter them here,” he said.

The company, which once had 40 to 45 employees, has been slaughtering cattle for about 20 years, but it recently has been unable to continue doing business because the cost of cattle has risen dramatically with the recession.

Slaughtering horses, De Los Santos said, might be the only way to save his company. He laid off his last 10 employees three weeks ago.

If he receives USDA approval, De Los Santos said he plans to slaughter 20 to 25 horses per day to start, “which is not a whole lot, compared to what's available.” The meat would be exported into Mexico by an El Paso partner he declined to name.